Joint Observance

The ELCA Conference of Bishops' Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Liaison Committee and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Committee commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by signing a joint statement during a Lutheran-Catholic service of Common Prayer.

Reformation 500

Martin Luther posted his “Ninety-Five Theses” in Wittenberg on Oct. 31, 1517, and the resulting debate about Christian teaching and practice led to changes that have shaped the course of Western Christianity for almost 500 years.

Luther and Lutheranism

Martin Luther was eight years old when Christopher Columbus set sail from Europe and landed in the Western Hemisphere. Luther was a young monk and priest when Michaelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel in Rome...

ELCA Good Gifts Catalog

Assignment Process

Assignment completes candidacy for all people, including those ordained in another Lutheran church or Christian tradition, moving them toward first call and admittance to the appropriate roster in the ELCA...

[1] It is always a
privilege to review an excellent book, particularly a path-breaking one that plows
new ground, like Jensen’s and Childs’ Moral
Warriors, Moral Wounds. The sense of
privilege is magnified when the authors are long-time friends and colleagues,
as is the case for me with “Wally and Jim.”
The former and I began seminary studies and became friends in the early
1970’s, not long after his return from the Vietnam war. Some of the stories told in the book were
first recounted on a long road trip we made together 45 years ago; learning
more details this time around heightened my sense of appreciation for the gravitas brought to this timely topic by
Chaplain Jensen. While my association
with Professor Childs has been of briefer duration, my regard for him is on
equal par. My admiration for his
theological acumen and personal integrity grew especially during the years I
watched him steward the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s process of
studying and deliberating the hotly contested and multi-faceted subjects we
lump together in the two-word phrase, “human sexuality.” Both these scholars/pastors/leaders have been
proven under fire. In full disclosure of
the nature of our male bonding, which I don’t believe compromises the
objectivity of this review, I share that as were Childs and Jensen, I too was
an all-conference high school football player!

[2] Reader, be
forewarned: despite its relative brevity, this is a heavy book, which requires
time to “read, mark, learn from and inwardly digest.” It deals with one of the most challenging
ethical questions that endures throughout human history: war. It offers a deeply theological treatment of
the topic about which individually and collectively I imagine we will have the
most profound discussions with our Creator when we’re all together in what a
dearly departed Episcopal colleague in California always referred to as “the
larger life of God.”

[3] The book offers as
good a brief treatment of “just war” ethics as one is likely to encounter,
thereby rendering it useful in any general introductory course or reading list
in the field of Christian ethics. Given
that the authors are both Lutheran theologians, it is to be expected they view
their vexing subject matter through Lutheran lenses; nevertheless, the broad
ethical perspectives proffered render the book relevant for students and
ministry practitioners of all theological stripes. In that regard, Childs’s and Jensen’s
sensitive treatment of multi-faith perspectives is essential in a work whose
intended audience includes military chaplain candidates preparing to minister
in the most diverse and pluralistic “congregations” that exist in any
context. Central to the ethical approach
espoused is “agape love,” which the authors argue “can speak meaningfully even
in the situation of war.” (p. 9)

[4] Since military
chaplains and chaplain candidates are a primary intended readership, the book
begins appropriately with chapters on “The Chaplain and the Challenges of
Military Culture.” Especially for those
of us who have never served in the armed forces, this is a helpful introduction
to a world that may seem as alien as that from which extraterrestrial beings
emanate. In this introductory section,
Jensen’s personal “testimony” is both engaging and poignantly honest. It takes readers inside the head and heart of
a Midwestern farm boy suddenly thrust into the role of “trained killer.” Later vignettes from Wally’s terrifying stint
with the infantry in Vietnam draw a reader into the reality of death-dealing
combat and how it inflicts moral wounds, if not physically disabling wounds as
well.

[5] A brief history of
U.S. military chaplaincy (first instituted by Congress in 1791) and its First
Amendment moorings offers a helpful apologetics for this unique form of
ministry, which is perennially contested by absolute pacifists and others who
believe Christians should have nothing to do with military activities or
warriors beyond compelling them to lay down arms. By no means do Childs and Jensen gloss over
the ethical binds in which chaplains and all peace-loving military enlistees
find themselves; rather, they plunge right into the reality that, “Frequently
the chaplain must negotiate the ethical tensions which exist between the needs
of the military and the teaching tenets of the endorsing ecclesiastical
community. For military chaplains, life
is lived in the interstices of the military service and the civilian religious community.”
(p.15)

[6] For this
reader/reviewer, one of the most useful sections of the book treats the
challenging matter of “vocational integrity” amidst the current pluralistic
multi-faith context. While the authors’
comments are directed specifically toward the military environment, their
insights will be no less relevant for “civilian” clergy of all faiths who are
increasingly drawn into situations where the “faith of our fathers (and
mothers)” cannot be presumed. Their
review of Ted Peters’ approaches to engaging with persons of other faiths
(Confessional Universalism, Confessional Exclusivism, and Supraconfessional
Universalism) constitutes a fine introductory lesson for seminarians and
chaplain candidates of all faith perspectives. As noted earlier, so too is the
book’s overview of “just war” convictions among the best brief treatment of the
subject to be found.

[7] Given that another
intended audience for the book are congregational leaders committed to helping
their faith communities become places of welcome for wounded warriors, the
authors’ summary of “warrior culture” is another good guide. Once again, Jensen’s autobiographical
comments take what could be dry subject matter and bring it to life, helping
those not steeped in military culture to understand: “Respect for and
confidence in authority is one of the essential characters of a warrior.” As a long-time seminary president, over the
years I have usually been able to spot former military
personnel within hours after their arrival as new students on campus; they’re
the ones who call me either “sir” or “Mr. President,”! Gaining a better understanding of the current
or former soldiers’ worldview will assist clergy and lay leaders in better ministering
with those who have served their country as warriors. In another Jensen retrospective moment later
in the book, Wally’s description of inhospitable treatment in his home
congregation upon returning from Vietnam sounds a wakeup call for churches
serious about extending God’s grace to those who bear the heavy burdens of what
they have been called to do.

[8] Moral Warriors, Moral Wounds’ second section zeroes in on “Virtues
and Principles” that guide chaplains and others engaged in ministry with
soldiers. This part of the book begins
with a succinct summary: “The seven core values of the US Army—loyalty, duty,
respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage—will serve as
our model for the basic precepts of military ethics.” Among the seven, honor is the prevailing wind
that blows through all the rest. In
addition to laying solid ethical foundations, Jensen and Childs include a few
examples of soldiers who have demonstrated personal moral courage, including as
“whistleblowers” challenging deviations from the honor code by fellow warriors
and even superior officers. In this
segment of the book, I found myself wishing the authors would have expanded
their case studies by delving more deeply into the morass we continue finding
frequently in the news: the military’s seeming inability to root out and punish
the apparent significant number of perpetrators of sexual abuse and harassment. Some forthright acknowledgment of how all
branches of the US military have failed systemically and institutionally to
embody the honor code, during prior historical eras when official policy was
discriminatory against persons of color, women and LGBTQ persons who felt
called to serve their country, would strengthen this treatment of virtue and
integrity. Childs and Jensen do briefly
address “respect for one another in matters of sexuality” near the end of the
book (p. 137), in a broader section on maintaining trust as a key to life
together in military environments.

[9] The book’s third and
final section delves deeply into “The Vocation of Ethical Leadership.” Whereas the whole arena of “emotional
intelligence” has received much attention in recent decades, Jensen and Childs
herein offer encouragement for greater attention to fostering “spiritual
intelligence,” which complements critical thinking, “the intellectual process
of gathering, organizing, evaluating, and employing information in a systematic
and repeatable fashion as a guide to belief and action.” (p.76) Integrating the “vertical component” into
one’s ethical and pastoral praxis, by conscious attempts to connect with the
Divine is as essential as giving attention to careful intellectual engagement
with the life-and-death matters stewarded by military chaplains and others
engaged in spiritual care for warriors and their families.

[10] A compelling case
study involving a so-called “mercy killing” in Afghanistan, coupled with
Jensen’s haunting recall of watching another human being fall from his shot,
are stark reminders that the subject matter of this book is as heavy as will be
encountered in a course of study. Still
new nomenclature in many an academic setting, the whole matter of “moral
injury” is thrust front and center in the book’s knockout punch. While some measure of healing may occur, a
warrior who has taken another’s life violently and volitionally never gets over
it, as our brother Wally starkly acknowledges: “This part of my warrior
experience has been going on inside of me for over forty years now.” (p. 89) Jensen’s final compelling
autobiographical section also poses the challenge faced by preachers who feel
called to prophetically challenge an unjust war while simultaneously creating
safe space for current and former warriors involved in that war. In his case, writes Jensen, the church failed
to find that balance: “Today, I am and remain a Christian not because of the
church but in spite of the church.” (p. 93)

[11] In further case
studies, Childs and Jensen explore topics that are front and center in our
current presidential campaigns and public debates. Quoting Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite,
they acknowledge the new age of warfare inaugurated by development of unmanned
aircraft: “The age of drones, unless checked, will be the age of permanent
war.” (p. 124) Drawing a line that must not be crossed in interrogation, the
authors articulate a compelling stance on human dignity rooted in a solid
theological anthropology. And they
acknowledge that ambiguity remains: Where is the line crossed between what is
described as “coercive but not abusive interrogation”? (p. 130)

[12] A final chapter on
“Safe and Sacred Spaces” issues a clarion call to all faith communities serious
about signs in front of churches that claim All Are Welcome. Given the reality that more than 1.6 million
Americans have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, every congregation finds itself
presented with the opportunity to welcome home those whose vocations include military
service in war zones almost guaranteed to inflict varying degrees of moral
injury. For military chaplains and for
us all, such ministry poses unique and daunting challenges. Childs and Jensen offer a resource that can
help immensely in rising to such challenges.
An added bonus is an extensive bibliography that offers even more rich
resources.

Michael Cooper-White is President of the Lutheran
Theological Seminary at Gettysburg

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